FORCES OPERATING WITHIN A

GROUP IN SOCIAL
INTERACTION
 What is Social-interaction?
"Social-interaction is the general
process whereby two or more
persons are in a meaningful contact,
as a result of which their behavior is
modified however slightly."
Forces Operating Within A Group
1. Similarity
When the group members are similar, it's easier
for the group to become cohesive. The similarity can be
due to several factors, such as having similar values,
beliefs, life circumstances, or pressing life issues.
Example: A group of patients with depression
might be more cohesive than a group of ten members
each with different mental health diagnoses.
 2. Group Openness to New Members
When a group is open and welcoming to new
members, group members more easily develop
cohesion. Often over time, group membership will
change due to various life circumstances or changing
individual needs.
Example: Josh's bowling team lost Frank when
he moved out of town. James joined the team in
Frank's place. The rest of the bowling team welcomed
James with open arms. James felt accepted and began
to really look forward to bowling nights.
 3. Trust
When group members feel they can trust
each other, group cohesiveness is more easily
developed.
Example: A veteran shares with his PTSD
support group things he did in Iraq for which he
feels guilty. The other veterans in the group
provide reassurance and don't judge him. The
group is closer as a result.
 4. Group Size
Because it is easier for fewer people to agree on
goals and to coordinate their work, smaller
groups are more cohesive than larger groups.
Task cohesion may suffer, though, if the group
lacks enough members to perform its tasks well
enough.
 5.Time Together
It is quite natural that the more time people
spend together, the more they will get to know
each other and more tendency there will be to
get closer to each other, thus strengthening the
degree of cohesiveness. In an organizational
setting, people who work near each other are
more likely to spend more time together.
 6. Group dignity
Every group or a team maintains a certain level
of pride and dignity with their team and team members.
And to maintain that dignity and pride of the group the
members deliver certain responsible services in favor of the
society and whoever concerned.
Moreover, it is an initial process of every group
activity and in that process, they undertake several services
according to the pride and dignity of the group. And every
single member of the group takes part in such activity of
the group.
 7. Commitment
Commitment is a word which describes a person loyalty
and honesty relating to the group.
Most probably every member of the team needs to
show some sort of commitment towards their work within
the group and for that they need to take active participation
in the activities of the group. This can lead in developing
high performing teams.
Therefore, it is very much necessary for all the
members of the team that without commitment a group
cannot survive in their future activity.
 8. Equal mindset
As people join some group with a thinking that they can
be a part of that particular group as they share a similar kind
of interest, then they definitely should go ahead with their
decision and join such team or a group.
Most groups which maintain a certain focus element in
their group consider their members’ interest to carry on with
their group services.
Therefore, most of the group accepts those candidates
who are very much interested in their activity. And other
than that no group accepts a person with different nature of
interest.
 9. Communication
As it is explained earlier that, communication
between the team and its team members is very
much necessary.
If there is any sort of mis-communication
between the team and its members, then it is
quite clear to everyone that there will be all sorts
of doubts between the team members.
Therefore, communication creates a link
between the team and their members point of
view as well.
 10. Inter Dependency
When each member of a group has independent
activities, the cohesiveness among the members
of such group will be less as compared to the
group whose members are doing the operations
which are dependent upon each other, thus,
mutual dependency leads to greater
cohesiveness.
 11. Management Behavior
The behavior of management has a direct influence on
the degree of cohesiveness that exists within a group.
The manager can make close relations difficult by
creating unhealthy competition among employees. On
the other hand, he can build solidarity by rewarding
cooperative behavior. The cohesive group can help
attain the group goals more effectively, if the group
members are properly inspired by the manager.
 12. Member Turnover
To make a group more cohesive, there is need for some
degree of stable relationships among members. The
higher the degree of member turnover, the less cohesive
a group becomes, because the more frequently
members leave a particular group the more time a new
member takes to get attached to the group and the
more time the old member takes to get attached to the
new group.
 13. Cooperation
Sometimes the general atmosphere of
group enhances cohesiveness. The overall
atmosphere depends among other things
on leadership.